The Two Worst Things to do in the Kitchen

The Two Worst Things to do in the Kitchen

Theology in the Trenches

by Kathleen Kjolhaug

“This is it right here…one of the two worst things to do in the kitchen!”

As I watched my husband wrestle with the tightly sealed jar of JIF, he precariously managed to take off the metal sheathing that protects it as if there were a million bucks bound up within.

“Really?” I questioned? “That’s it? A jar of JIF? That’s as bad as it gets?”

“Yes,” he said. “That and the fine little layer on the outside of an onion. Taking that thing off is the other worst thing there is to do in the kitchen!”

I hadn’t known there were such deep secrets kept between us. For over thirty-five years we’ve been married and I just never knew the depths of despair or should I say disdain he held over these two jobs that a man must do from time to time. Had I known, I would have lifted his burden long ago.

You see, he’s a man who never asks for much...much less make his frustrations known. Oh, once in a while he’ll let me know he needs a pair of jeans…the same ones we’ve been buying at Target for years now. And every so often he will be bold enough to ask for beef jerky when his birthday or a special holiday rolls around. Other than that…not many requests are heard from him.

Hand-me-downs come easily as his brother comes and goes. No longer does the brother even tell us that once again he has cleaned out his closet and thought that his older brother up north could benefit from the hand-me-downs. And…the younger brother would be correct.

We usually note the goodies concealed within a brown paper bag near the front door once he is on the road back home. Like a goodie-bag at Crazy Days you just never know what treasures you will find within. The subtle forms of love that come through the door amaze me.

Now back to the topic, “the worst jobs in the kitchen.”

I was pondering what they might be for me. Certainly, the JIF jar and the thin layer of onions are irritating. However, I am one to by-pass perfection by chopping off that thin layer upon the onion along with the thicker layer just beneath the surface. Mere seconds finds it in the garbage for me so as not to linger too long on a task I’d rather not do. And, as far as the JIF jar sealer, I quickly find something to puncture the center and peel it off from the center point of the circle and continue to make my way outward towards the lip of the jar. If a little of that metallic stuff gets stuck on the edges…well, a fingernail quickly removes that too.

However, what I deem the worst job in the kitchen is pulling up the drain in the sink which he places upside down to catch the falling crud that might slip down into the drain pipe. Yup, that’s about as sloppy and disgusting as it gets for me so I try to avoid that job at all costs. The other job I deem as the worst would be wiping the little flecks of garbage off the wall that somehow land there when we put that garbage into the bin. Yup, those two bug me.

However, in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, “…give thanks in all circumstances…” And so, I try to flip the lid on my thought process and give thanks that I even have a drain pipe…and leftover crud that goes down it to share with the wall from time to time.

Why are we supposed to flip the lid on our thought process? First Thessalonians continues, “for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

And so, if it’s His will, then I want it to be my will. “Not my will but Thine be done (Luke 22:42).” Amen.